All Fancy-fied on a Saturday night...

Occasionally, I put my rebel side on the shelf and get all Fancied up.  Not often, but I guess it keeps it exciting when I actually do.  Ok, Ok...So the rebel side never gets put on the shelf, but I do contain myself a time or two. 

Yesterday was a very big day for one of our Family members.  Our little cousin is all grown up and became a Bride.  She is also a graduate with her Master's degree from UT!  Hook em Horns!  It was a very fun and relaxing wedding.

Most of you that see me daily, see me as pretty darn worn out lookin'.  I usually have paint splattered all over my body or on my clothing. It's unusual to see me wearing make-up or something nice.  If it isn't paint, it's sweat or whatever food particles were left on me from carrying around the toddler guy.  I've just learned to accept it since I know I'm a hard worker.  It also gives the so called "lurker" in my neighborhood something to drive by and look at.

SOOOOO, I wanted to share my little story behind my "little black dress".  I guess about a year ago, I was supposed to go to a BUNCO party with a "Breakfast at Tiffany's" Theme.  So I started looking on Ebay for a LBD.  I found this one and was happy with it, and it was the right size.  (ok so I thought?)  I paid $8.50 plus shipping for the dress.  When it arrived it was in NEW condition with the price tags still attached.  The original price was $108.00.  No LIE!  It's also a Ralph Lauren dress.  I'm assuming it may have been purchased at a Bridal shop as a Bridesmaid dress??  Also, It didn't fit until just now.  DANG, FINALLY!  I even had to have some alterations done to it.  YIPPEE!

I was a little skeptical of wearing a strapless.  Still not brave enough for that after having the Toddler boy 2 years ago.  So I added my own touch to it by sewing the black lace on it as a halter top.  Then I added some lace to the back of it for some scalloped detail.  It was so much prettier this way!  And I was way more comfortable.  I packed up my cowgirl boots, but never had the oppurtunity to wear them.  My little man got exhausted after dancing with all the HOT chicks and was ready to leave before I could ever pull them on.  : (

Next up was my daughter's dress.  We were on a MISSION and stopped in at Dillard's one afternoon.  We saw the clearance rack and snagged this fuchsia beauty in her size (it was the only one like it) for a whole $10.49.  It was a little plain.  My darlin' princess had the idea of adding the lace around the sash and the bottom of her dress.  She also stole one of my vintage broaches off my lamp shade and pinned it onto the center of the sash for some "BLINGING" attitude!  I purchased 4 yards of Lace at the local Wal-Mart for $1.29 a yard.  And I still have a yard left!

My Daughter and I usually find our AWESOME jewels at a little shop called FRIENDS AND COMPANY in Floresville, TX located right off Highway 181.  You can't miss it, she has the crazy zebra, flamingo in her front yard!  Beda's shoes that are actually my shoes, were purchased at THE CHICKEN COOP in downtown Floresville.  And my fancy footsie covers are a steal from ROSS.  Also, both Beda and I have rhinestone flower clips in our hair.

Final outcome and total of our dresses put together was less than $30, and I thought they were SMASHING!

Just a little note:  The outfit my son is wearing in this photo cost me more than mine and Beda's dress put together.  That's INSANE!  And men say women are expensive...PAALEEZ!

It was so much fun gettin all fancy!  The best part about it was the fact that I did not stress one minute over "what I was going to wear" to this shin-dig.  That alone made the day!

Design on a Dime...Oh wait, I don't even have a dime...

Most people that know me, know that I am big into working in my yard.  It's something I've been doing since I was a little kid. I've always enjoyed it to the most extreme.  In fact, It's some of the best memories. 

My Dad and I would usually spend our weekends outside working in the yard.  He would yell at me and such for turning the lawn mower off and having it back fire...but I know he truly appreciated the help he got from me.  My Mom used to tell me this story about how when she was younger, she would mow the grass and the wheel would keep falling off as she made her rounds.  I've had that experience a few times as well. My brother and I had this old riding lawn mower w/o a deck.  So my Dad would hook up another push lawn mower w/o the handles to the back of the riding one.  We called it our "Shredder".  I remember even having to pull the start cord to get the lawn mower started. 

 Because I enjoyed it so much then, I always looked forward to having a family to work in the yard with as I got older.  Well, I've got my family now, but no help!  Both my Husband and Daughter are really busy.  Just Gunnar..and he is 2, so most of the time the work I do outside is triple the work.  But I love the fact that he is my right-hand-man and I know one day he will be a hard worker too!  Maybe he wants to do all of it since I always had him strapped to my back or in my arms while I was mowing when he was an infant.  You know us Momma's?  We are pretty determined to get things done! 

Ok...so onto the photos.  I'm listing several photos of my work that I've done in my own yard.  I live in South Texas where it's 100 degrees in January, and in a town where the dirt is not dirt, it's clay or concrete.  So some of my solutions were to plant all the flowers, plants, ect in pots.  Well, I think pots are boring and can really make your yard look cluttered and disorganized...so I added my own touch to a few areas. 

First up, this was a flower bed that used to be solid Oleanders.  They were a gorgeous hot pink color.  My husband didn't like it, so he pulled them all out with a Tractor one day...w/o my permission. 

He said they were poisonous!  Yes, I realize that, but I don't think my dog or kids were going to be sitting there chomping on the oleanders.  Anyways, After 3 years of looking at that boring area w/o my oleanders and getting frustrated and mad at my husband, I took matters into my own hands.( I don't like to wait on anyone).  Plus this is a full sun area.  When you have a full sun area, you need to make sure that you buy and purchase plants, shrubs, ect that can take at least 8 hours of the West sun.  You need to read the labels on the plants and see the temperature settings that the plant can handle too.  This way, it takes away from a plant dieing or burning up and you having to spend more and more money on plants each year. Or you could hire me to do all that for you. These pictures were taken when I first completed the project in April.  Everything is almost over grown now, and I will post those pics at a later date.  FYI, I'm looking for a metal chicken roost, house, you know the thing the chicks lay their eggs in...to hang on my old fence.  So if anyone has one at a decent price, contact me  PALEEEEEZ!

I didn't want to use traditional garden pots as mentioned before.  So I went to "The Barn" in downtown Floresville.  I found 2 old trunks that the lady gave me a great deal on.  As mentioned in a before post, the trunks are great for all kinds of uses. 

I had this area of my yard that was pretty much dead.  It's just too hot and dry down here.  So instead of using dirt or mulch, I added river rock instead.  You can pretty much visit any outdoor material yard, and they will have a large selection of rock, mulches, flagstone, and all that fun and pretty stuff.  I got all my river rock from Pfiel's in Floresville, TX.  I even loaded, hauled it, and unloaded it on my own, with a shovel and in my Pathfinder!  now that's dedication!

I decided to use the rock here instead because it gets too much of the hot, west sun.

And since I'm kinda into the "trash" thing.  I found these cute garden stakes at our local Dollar store and just had to have them.  My husband would not allow me to place them in the front yard, so out by our back gate they went.  But actually, I enjoy seeing them there anyways.  So he had a good suggestion.  They are PINK, and a happy site!

I Love animals.  If I could save each and every one of them, I would.  But I also have the love for fish and turtles.  So I created this pond out of a tub I found for $10 at the Garden Party in Poth, TX.  Then I just used some flagstone, river rock, Shells collected on my honeymoon, and a garden pot I had laying around.  The fish are a joy to watch and my little man, Gunnar enjoys feeding them.  Also, Buddy, my dog has fallen in a few times trying to catch them.  He always stops by the pond on the way out to do his "business".  The Cat could care less about the fish.  When I went to clean the pond the other day, I noticed a large toad.  So I helped him out, only to be scared by an ugly SNAKE!  I hate snakes.  Sorry, but the snake didn't make it.  Ewe!  Since the fish are so happy to be my pets, they are sticking around and they are growing!  So with that said, it looks as though I will be building a very large pond soon.  Yay, a new project!

 

Buddy must have gotten thirsty after fishing by the pond, cuz I caught him doing this:

My little pond is nestled under a tree along the fence line in a flower bed.  I dug a trench by hand and with a grubbing hoe, to run the electric cord to the pump.  The grass has already grown back over it. 

So that is my backyard.  Of course it's huge but those are the pics from my projects.  Here are a few from my patio seating area.  We used to have a vintage coca-cola table and chairs out there.  But I'm more Shabby Chic, and wanted something Romantic Country.  So I searched on Craigslist until I came across this set in the photos.  The set was originally painted a poo poo brown., so i brushed each piece by hand with white paint.  This too was another trip that I had to tie the furniture on top of my Pathfinder.  it was funny.  I'm pretty sure the neighbors are very entertained by me.  Two of the larger chairs are from a garage sale, and one of the chairs is off the side of the road.  You will see a complete story on that one in another blog.

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It's a party at the Flea Market...

"A flea market or swap meet is a type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered"

A couple of weekends ago I decided to get away from the kids and head out to the local Flea Market.  I had a blast!  Did you know they serve beer?  Anyways, I went on a $100 budget..but spent a little of that on some drinks (oops).  When I left, my old hunk of junk pathfinder was loaded down and looked more like Sanford & son's  truck than the "Soccer Mom" car.  Oh well, I think it's fun and I could care less what most people think.  I guess it gives a whole new meaning to "junk in the trunk" ?

I purchased several items.  My favorite find of the day were three ugly (I saw the beauty in them) 1960's/70's looking dining room chairs. It brought back some good memories of our old house when I was growing up.  You know, the house with the Avocado Green appliances, floors, and dark wood panel walls?   It took me about 20 min to perfect them.  They were perfect!  I nabbed 3 of them.  That vendor was ready to make a deal..and I got a deal!

The next HOT find was a gorgeous wooden mirror.  It was heavy and solid!  Once again,it was a dark brown/wood color.  Which is great if you are into that.  But I chose to paint it white just due to the decor in my home.  Here's how that whole situation went down:  Me: "how much for the mirror?"  Vendor: "$35", so I went on my way because I was not going to pay that much for something I knew they didn't want to pack back up in their truck.  So I kept shopping.  A few beers later, and a full market cart i went back.  I asked them if they would go down on the price.  One of the guys said "yeah, your good looking enough."  He was driving off anyway.  So that left me with his buddy that I could tell was a sucker.  So I got him to sell me the mirror plus a pewter jewelry box all for $25!!  This mirror is great!  You can hang it in an entry way, add it to a dresser, or any wall space that needs "something".  I added it to an old credenza that I use in my living room to hold blankets, quilts, extra pillows, and sheets.

Then I found a bunch of beautiful candelabras and candle holders.

I'm in love with nature and birds.  I've always loved these cast iron bird baths.  They come in all kinds of sizes and styles.  You can find them pretty much anywhere.  Such as Hobby Lobby, Home Goods, TJ Maxx, Marshall's, Ross, ect.  Most of the time if you buy them at little shops they can get pretty pricey.  But the other places I listed them for sale them for

 about

 $9.99 - $40.00.

I grabbed my little beauty at the flea market for $5.  I decided to place it on my table to hold my sugar substitute packages.  They also make GREAT candle holders or candy dishes.

My Partner in Crime and I came across some vendors that were selling some pretty neat lamps.  They were all metal and came with the shades.  These were great lamps for the patio.  This way when we get the south breeze blowing it doesn't knock down the lamp.  The base of the lamps were nice and heavy duty.  I grabbed my lamp for a whole $4.00.  To add my girly, shabby chic touch...I added some roses around the edge of the shade.  But watch out  when adding the roses or flowers yourself.  Because even at $1 a piece it will add up quick!

Trunks make great accessories in your home or on your porch/patio.  I found this pretty piece and decided to add it to my living room.  You can use it as a coffee table or a center piece to a room for when you have company over.  These are great multi functional pieces.  You can find vintage trunks at a variety of places.  If you plan to use it as a coffee table, you need to make sure you purchase one that doesn't have the dome top. 

 I was able to use it as a coffee table, but then it works great as a toy box or a storage solution as well.  It makes for easy access to Gunnar's toys and he doesn't have a problem opening and closing it.  However, watch out for those little fingers with your own children. 

  

Flea Markets are fun.  You really need to go with an open mind because you will find all kinds of things and see all kinds of people.  I've seen coffins for sale, sail fish replicas, and the hoochy momma's that wear short shorts, tanks, and big ole gold chains and bling, and their stillettos (really who is comfortable in that?).

 It can get hot and sweaty. (oo la, la)  Your best bet is to probley go without your children since you are ready to make some HOT deals!  That's all for now...until I visit the market again!  I'll keep you posted!







The Thelma & Louise diaries...

"You said you "n" me was gonna get out of town and for once just really let our hair down.  Well darlin', look out cause my hair is comin' down!" -Thelma

Well, I've got this friend.  She and I have been pretty dang close of friends since the 5th grade.  We fight like Sisters.  But I guess that's cuz we are "Rebel Road Sista's"?  She and I share a passion for road trips, backwood bars, and Junking!  Of course our families and all that stuff too.

This past spring we loaded up in a truck and headed a little North East to the huge towns of Warrenton and Roundtop.  This was our first experience of the very famous "Antique Week".  Since we both have young kids, it turned out to only be a day trip.  But it was so much fun!  Unfortunately, we didn't find any crazy treasures.  Sounds crazy, but we were a little turned off by the outrageous prices.  Everyone seemed to not want to make deals and although there were so many cute things..it's hard to spend money on a $75 pedestal, when I found the exact same one for $3.99 at Marshall's. However, it was all inspiring.

One of Texas's famous road stops

I ran into a fellow Vendor.( I used to vend at Boerne Market Days a few years ago.)  Anyways, we found some cute koozies at her booth,  and thought they fit our current life.  Ha, Ha!  Some may find them ugly and disrespectful, but it's all in good humor and fun.  Can't pass up things that are pink right?

We had some cocktails, of which the ice chest caused our vintage market cart to have a blow out.  Too, probley because as the drinks disappeared, we kept adding more to it.  I guess we were having so much fun, we really didn't care and we laughed so dang hard we nearly passed out.  The hardest part of it was carrying the ice chest back on the long haul to the truck.  After that, I think I did pass out.  It was a looong drive back home. 

We kept walking on and came across this little creek.  I thought it was cute and decided it would be a good picture for my Dad.  By the way, if you ever plan on going, be prepared to walk and walk and walk.  It was funny because when we asked some of the vendors how to get to Zapp Hall, they said keep walking north and once you go over the creek you are almost there.  We actually almost missed the creek if it hadn't been for this sign.  Because I was looking for a CREEK not a crack in the ground. 

We finally Made it to Zapp Hall which is where several Vendors set up shop.  Such as the Junk Gypsies  It's also where the famous Junkorama prom is held every year and the John Evans Band plays.

Zapp Hall led us to the Junk Gypsies.  I was so excited and couldn't wait to finally meet them and see their booth.  I was a little turned off by their items and we didn't find anything really interesting as far as furniture and such.  But we did come across some "Thelma and Louise" Tshirts that we had to buy of course.  We got some new stickers and koozies too.

We didn't find any large furniture pieces or big items, so we couldn't hire these men that were selling themselves.  DANG!

It ended up being a fun trip and was worth the time and gas.  It's a place where my "rebel road sista" and I can be ourselves.(you  have to be tame where we live.)  We will most likely be going back probley wearing our tiaras and pearls. It's never a dull moment when we whip those out. The show is held once in the Spring and once in the Fall.  I will never, ever pass up the opportunity to go junking! 

"You've always been CRAZY, this is just the first chance you've had to EXPRESS yourself" - Louise